Tricks to Boost Immunity in Toddler

I heard horror stories of children who kept falling sick when they first went to school/childcare. So before Evangeline started school, I researched on how to boost Evangeline’s immunity and thus minimise chances of her falling sick. What came up were supplement and essential oils for children.

By the way, school for Evangeline is actually a mere two hours of playgroup. Even so, it is long enough for germs and viruses to spread. The teacher told me falling sick in the beginning can happen to playgroup students too.

In any case, we’re kind of emotional that Evangeline is finally going to school! Just the thought of fetching her to and back from school made us feel she is so grown up already. A far cry from being a helpless infant in our arms. What a difference in short eighteen months. She’s still a baby in our eyes though!

Immune Boosters for Toddlers

Breastmilk

Passive immunity comes through breastmilk! Mentioning this here even though it is more applicable for newborns and infants. Also just to share, according to this article, breastmilk only protects against infection through their digestive tract; and not bloodstream antibodies to protect against some illnesses. Hence vaccinations are still required. More about breastfeeding: baby.joogostyle.com/tag/breastfeeding

Food, Exercise and Sleep

Eat more fruits and vegetables. Let the toddler exercise, or simply head outdoors to stretch and run about. Sleep sufficient hours (11 to 14 hours for 1-2 years old toddler).

The same advice for adults too.

Supplement

One highly raved product by mothers is Sambucol (Black Elderberry Syrup). I feed this to Evangeline occasionally, particularly when we are going to events or venues more susceptible to catching a bug (e.g. indoor playground). She loves it because it’s sweet!

Be sure to choose the UK version of Sambucol if your child is below 2 years old. Sign up for Pupsik with this referral link and help keep this website going. I love to keep sharing good stuff with you. Thank you!

According to a few mummies, me included, it’s not advisable to take this supplement on a daily basis. I think more so when the child is less than 2 years old. Reason being, let the child build immunity naturally (e.g. through food) and not be over-reliant on supplements at such young age. If not, the immune system might not be strong to fight viruses when this supplement is unavailable.

By following the healthy eating from the Singapore Health Promotion Board, most children should be able to meet the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) of vitamins and minerals through food, so there may not be any added benefit in giving supplements. Over-supplementation can also put a child at risk for vitamin or mineral toxicity.

Essential Oils

Photo Credit: Rocky Mountain Oils

If you are not comfortable feeding supplements to your child often, do explore essential oils. I have long heard about the popularity of essential oils and how “natural” and “non-invasive” it is. A hit with those who believe in Naturopathy. But I kind of doubt its power and was simply too lazy to figure it out — seems like a world of complication. But for the sake of Evangeline, I did some digging.

The number one oil floating around Singapore mummies’ circle is Young Living’s ‘Thieves’ (name of the oil). So popular, there’s a website solely dedicated to products made with ‘Thieves’ blend. I suspect the website is recently created by a Multi-level marketing (“MLM”) seller. The website didn’t come out in my search results 2 to 3 months ago.

Apparently, once parents rub ‘Thieves’ oil underfoot, the child is less likely to get hand foot mouth disease (HFMD) and other illnesses. I heard mothers testifying of its effectiveness and applying it on children as young as 1 to 2 years old. With the common HFMD on the top of my unwanted list, I almost got ‘Thieves’ from a MLM seller. That is until I did more googling for cheaper alternatives and found Rocky Mountain Oils.

In the end, I chose Rocky Mountain Oils over Young Living for Evangeline (my 17 month old toddler then). Why so? Other than pricing, is it truly a better alternative? More on that in my next post, coming up real soon! 🙂